The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
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Maine’s Secretary of State, Shenna Bellows, has determined that Donald Trump is ineligible to run for president in the state in 2024, citing a constitutional clause related to insurrection. The decision, prompted by Trump’s actions leading up to the 2021 US Capitol riot, makes Maine the second state, after Colorado, to prohibit Trump from the ballot. The move increases the pressure on the US Supreme Court to intervene.
Bellows asserted that Trump’s exclusion is based on the 14th Amendment, which prohibits individuals engaged in insurrection from holding federal office. According to her 34-page ruling, Trump must be removed from Maine’s Republican primary ballot due to his use of a false election fraud narrative to incite supporters, culminating in the Capitol events.
Trump’s campaign plans to appeal the decision in Maine’s courts, with the legal process preventing the ruling from taking immediate effect. California, however, has confirmed Trump’s inclusion on the Republican primary ballot.
While courts in Michigan and Minnesota recently dismissed efforts to block Trump’s candidacy, the likelihood of a Supreme Court decision looms large. The 14th Amendment, enacted after the Civil War, aimed to prevent Confederate secessionists from returning to power.
Trump, facing trials related to overturning the 2020 election, criticized Bellows’ decision, accusing her of partisan bias. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis expressed concerns over the ruling’s potential impact, and legal experts anticipate a Supreme Court showdown, emphasizing the need for a swift resolution to prevent individual states from independently determining Trump’s eligibility.
